Setting up a book club

You have finished reading the latest in the Harry Potter series and feel like sharing your deep insights with others. Or you have a book that no one here seems to be familiar with, but you are just screaming to get the word out that it's a must-read.

Establishing your own book club may be the answer to your literary ambitions. Longtime book club member Ditta Amahorseya gives some tips on how to get things going.

Gather a group of people who really love to read. That is easier said than done; you must also find ones who are committed to the regular meeting schedule and keeping up with the assigned readings.

Keep the group small, or else some people will be left on the sidelines as listeners while their more loquacious colleagues have their say. Twelve is the maximum number; remember that not all of the members will be able to make it to every meeting. Five is the minimum number, as anything less would be like a simple get-together.

Once you have enough members, it's time to decide the structure of the meetings, such as whether they will be biweekly or monthly, the kind of books to read (novels, sci-fi, etc), the venue and all the other details. -- JP